Ultra High Frequency Partial Discharge Sensors based on Various Microstrip Patch Antenna Designs

The most common pre-breakdown phenomenon in high voltage (HV) equipment is partial discharge (PD). The presence of PD activity is a warning indicator that the insulation deterioration would worsen over time, leading to catastrophic failure if the associated defects are not addressed early. Ultra-high frequency (UHF) has been proposed as a non-conventional method for detecting PD because of its resilience to external noise, high sensitivity, and online measurement potential. The UHF detection approach uses sensors to detect electromagnetic waves emitted by the PD source. The sensor is thus one of the most important parts of UHF PD detection. Microstrip patch antenna is widely used as a UHF sensor due to its merits of simple structure, compact profile, low cost, and ease of fabrication. This project deals with the development of the microstrip antenna for PD detection. To evaluate the antennas' performance, five antennas are built and simulated using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software. Return loss, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and surface current are among the simulated results. These five antennas operate in the range of at least 80% of UHF and have the acceptable size that can be installed on the dielectric window or mounted on the flange.